I'm compiling a list of my favorite local place names. Here's what I have so far:
- Pawtucket, Rhode Island
- Pronounced "puh-TUK-it", comes from the Narragansett language meaning "at the falls in the river (tidal stream)" (Wikipedia)
- Seekonk, Massachusetts
- What a great name. Seekonk. Narragansett for "wild black goose" or Wampanoag for "mouth of stream" or "wild goose" (Wikipedia)
- Woonsocket, Rhode Island
- "place of steep descent" in Nipmuck (Wikipedia)
- Plainville, Massachusetts
- Origins are self-evident (especially if you've ever been there)
It goes without saying that most are aboriginal in origin—and thank goodness for that; I for one would rather live in a "Seekonk" than a "Mansfield" (or, for that matter, a "Toronto" as opposed to a "York").
But my personal fave thus far is "Braintree". Creepy and apt—given its proximity to über-educated Boston. Well, it too is an indigenous name of sorts; named after a town in England, which in turn derives from Celtic (maybe):
The origin of the name Braintree is obscure. [...] One theory is that Braintree was originally Branoc's tree, Branoc apparently being an old personal name. [...] Other scholars say the "Brain" element in the word is accepted to be derived from "Brid/ Brigantia/ Bride/ Bigit/ Britain". This is the ancient Celtic, and possibly pre-celtic name for the Goddess of the land of Britain. [...] "Tree" comes from the Saxon suffix, more usually spelt "try", denoting a big village.
(yeah, Wikipedia, where else?)
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